What makes you ready to own a parrot?

[SDavid]

"...things DO come up that is out of a parronts control and they may have to give up the bird. In those circumstances, there's just no way you can fault someone. Things happen that you can't control. "

I do alot of thinking about this myself. I mean about when when it's ok to advise someone it's time to rehome as opposed to suggesting they work through it.

Personally I take into account the birds needs as well. If a life change makes it impossible to give any pet what it fundamentally needs as a living creature and according to it's nature THEN I'd say there's really no other option than to rehome. If the situation wont change of course.

To address the original question of "what makes someone ready" for a particular bird I honestly think that unless you can borrow an adult of the species youre interested in for a few months then youre never fully aware of what's involved. Imo it's the same thing as asking what makes someone ready for marriage, children, new job, or any number of life's changes. How many books can you read about children that'll really prepare you? How much can you educate yourself? And, a bird IS a life change (a huge one depending on the species). Even after research we still "jump in" because we don't "really" know, we experience/expand our comfort zones, and grow with them and learn about ourselves (more importantly our limitations) from there. In this respect I think birds are similar although it's more unfortunate because they are living beings that we are using. People quit their jobs, divorce, move away, throw their kids out...lol. Maybe it's not lack of committment but simply realising it's not for them and of no reward to them or something's just not working. Just guessing here-everyone's different. Imo there's a dynamic to actually having a bird in your home that is hard to visualise or understand until you experience it (the bird as a member of your family).

How you will "house" that bird or birds also makes a huge difference to whether you can stick with it (make it happy) for the long run or are "ready" for it. Especially when you get to the point (and people eventually do) when you have multiple birds. I'd say that if you live in a climate/area where you can have an outdoor aviary (for macaws for instance) or a bigger house with a bird specific room then the chores involved are less likely to wear you out or the mess won't take up your whole home. And then you can spend more time enjoying them. Giving them what they need and giving yourself what you need to be happy.

Our age is another factor. Lets face it, I don't think many of us would have macaws if we considered our age. And, I don't mean that they will outlive us but before that ever happens they will outlive our ability to care for them as we enter old age and don't have the energy. There are many things to consider but at the end of the day I think that starting with even a perfect scenario doesn't guarantee anything for the long run.

[KimM]

Hi Missy! One common theme you will notice about all "responsible" exotic bird owners is we will first give you all the reasons you do NOT want a parrot.. LOL. This is because we truly love our birds and want only the best for them. It's not that we're trying to rain on your parade..

That being said, everyone here does have good advice and valid points.
There is a tremendous amount of time, love, patience, money, etc to owning one of these beautiful animals. If you decide to venture into the world of "being owned" (trust me on this one) by an exotic bird, please do your research and expose yourself to them as much as possible. I researched for two years before I decided to take the plunge. I'm glad I did. I had a better idea of what I was getting into once I DID take the plunge. You never really totally understand until you actually have one. THEN you realize.. Wow! This is tough,, but if you truly love them, it's worth every bit of it.

[Dawnsfall]

I have only had my bird -Cody (12 yr old Severe Macaw) for a little over a month. We knew to expect noise, that he would need lots of attention. and ould be messy, and even realized it would be a lot like having a toddler again. However my children are teenagers so it has been a long time since we had a toddler

Cody belonged to the family of a coworker. They had bought him for their son when he (the son) was 12. At 18 the son had new interests and Cody wasn't getting the attention he needed.

Because we never had a bird we came up with a trial period to make sure that Cody would be happy with our family and we would be happy with him. This way we knew if he stressed out and started pulling feathers and was miserable he could go back home.

A week before the trial period was up we realized he had a cold. The first visit cost $200 and he is now on antibiotics twice a day (I have to say that I would rather give him medicine than the cats anyday!!). When he got sick everybody in the family agreed that he was part of our flock now and sick or not we would all hang together.

Short story- Were we ready to have a bird? Probably not. If we had realized that all of our time would be monopolized by a bird would we have got him, probably not. Would we give him up for the world now? Definitely NOT!!!

[Abby]

Ok my turn.

I started with birds when I was about 6 yo. I had parents who were very supportive as things grew. Dad even got some of his own birds that I helped with in regards to socialising.

When I was 19yo my mum died of cancer, soon after I made the decision to euthanase my much loved galah (RB2) who was in the final stages of beak and feather disease (another story altogether that I'm sure I've written here soemwhere). I dropped my bundle completely both in my personal life and with my birds. Luckily my dad took over.

Fast forward and I started getting back into my birds again. I'm now in my late 30s, married, mortgage and 3 children. We have a largish demanding flock and my life revolves around my family and birds. My 14yo has a galah of his own plus the lorikeet pair. Would I have been prepared to allow him these birds if I wasn't prepared to pick up the pieces? No.

My own life took a dramatic turn and thankfully my father picked up the pieces, I owe the same for my kids.

My point is that I have no problems with kids and teenagers having any bird as long as the family is prepared to take over and help out should life throw a curve ball.

[tabooh]

A great deal of research into the care and well being of owning a parrot. You will find a lot of information on the net, also inquire at your nearest avian vet that could provide adequate information as to the many questions that you may have, good luck

[missysue29]

Wow! There are a lot of really great answers.

My first experience with birds was being given a parakeet, cockatiel, and sun conure all at the same time. I had like a week to research and prepare for them. I probably wasnt ready, but I'd like to think that they are in better condition now than they before they came to me, so it was for the better. The sun conure, Rio, was a struggle at first. He wouldnt let me hold or touch him, with a lot of patients and time I finally have him out of his shell. Then there was the fight between me and my boyfriend about Rio's screaming, which began in tears and yelling and threats(on my part that if the bird had to go I was going with it) and ended in my boyfriend learning that he doesnt always get his way, that this relationship takes compromises on both sides, and there are just some thing that I wont compromise on(anything to do with my pets.) And now my boyfriend can feed and hold Rio and actually enjoys it.

So, I don't know for sure if I am ready for another bird. But I'm gunna keep browsing and if I happen to stumble on one that will fit into my flock then I will make myself ready for it, I guess.

Thank you all for your replys and keep em coming.

[SDavid]

"And now my boyfriend can feed and hold Rio and actually enjoys it."

It's great that things turned out that way in the end. I think it illustrates that sometimes a hurdle comes up in owning birds that can be emotionally trying. For instance the bird begins to scream too much, or favors one family member and bites the others, or is more mess than was anticipated. Once worked through life with them can be amazing. Sometimes it involves rearranging what we are doing a bit, our homes, and getting other family members on board. I have a feeling that too many people give up too quickly. I just feel that we have to be stubborn in giving them all the chances we can before rehoming if we love them. Apparently you did and it paid off.